Entertainment

Facebook Gets New Investors: Samwer Brothers for European Expansion

Facebook's getting some new investors. The Samwer brothers, Marc, Oliver, and Alexander, have reportedly taken a stake in the social networking site, according to Reuters. While the size of the stake has not been revealed, it has been disclosed that the Samwer brothers will now be Facebook's strategic partners in Europe. It has also been disclosed that the Samwer brothers have offered up less than the $240 million that Microsoft paid for a 1.6% stake in Facebook, but don't let that fool you. The Samwer brothers' investment amount was still sizable, however much it was.

After selling the German Internet auction site Alando.de to eBay for $50 million in shares, the brothers have made names for themselves and have become even more involved with startups since. They set up the ringtone company Jamba, which was sold to Verisign for $273 million in shares and cash back in 2004, and have also invested in the German Twitter clone, Frazr, and a handful of other startups. It's important to note that the Samwer brothers also invested in the Facebook clone StudiVZ, which was sold about a year ago for $112 million, so it's very evident that the brothers not only recognize the importance of social networking tools, but also see a great deal of potential in Facebook.

As the Samwer brothers are becoming the strategic partners for Facebook in Europe means that Facebook is getting even more serious about its European expansion. With the Samwer brothers having a large, vested interest in the success of Facebook's growth across Europe, this seems like a pretty good fit considering the interests for all parties involved.

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